A great addition to the literature of teenage angst.
Stanton’s graphic novel takes the form of a fictional teen’s diary chronicling a life-altering summer in the 1980s.
It’s June 1988, and Nick Pope has just finished his sophomore year of high school. He’s struggled with his mental health for years, but now he’s off his medication and out of therapy. He tells his large family that he’s doing better, but the tragic loss of someone close still affects him, as do the effects of bullying he suffers due to the pronounced birthmarks around his eyes. He plans to spend the summer working at his father’s movie theater, Wallflower, selling tickets and popcorn. The summer progresses with a balance of mild family drama and boredom until Nick receives the unexpected opportunity to show his artwork in a new gallery. Nick is wary at the prospect: “Sometimes if I tell people about stuff and then it doesn’t work out, it hurts EVEN MORE.” At the same time, he develops feelings for a charismatic artist from a nearby Catholic school, which forces him to confront long-standing questions about his sexuality. The work vividly re-creates the 1980s with nostalgic easter eggs; details like Nick’s sister April’s involvement with a man tied to the Michael Dukakis presidential campaign or a mention of the 1976 horror film Squirm ground the narrative, but the story never feels dated, nor do these nods to the time grow cloying. The evocation of teenage melancholy in Stanton’s prose is a delight to read: “I felt like melted vanilla ice cream. Plain and melted and not much of anything”; “I’ve been feeling pretty okay lately. I know the weather will change though.” Klecker’s black-and-white artwork, edged with a punk sensibility, complements Nick’s adolescent voice and masterfully illuminates his interior life without overwhelming the story. The text and illustrations authentically portray grief and mental health struggles in a way that speaks to the past as much as to today.
A great addition to the literature of teenage angst.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9798245321523
Page Count: 141
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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